2. SPEAKER
Diana Yazidjian
Founder of DFY Consulting
Co-founder of Invest Crowdfund Quebec
Social Presence consultant and
Storyboarder
Crowdfunding coach
Over 15 years experience in IT change
management and service design
First venture in 1998 for online retailers
Blogger for Invest Crowdfund Quebec and
DFY
Guest blogger for Huffington and NCPA
Speaker at marketing and corporate events
Active member in Montreal’s start-up
community.
Consulting
3. ”As startups are the stars of the show, their ability to succeed depends
on the health of the ecosystem and its ability to support, connect,
network and finance them."
Mark Evans, Canadian entrepreneur
Crowdfunding Types and Growth
Pre-Campaign Work
How The Crowd Works
Platform Overview
Business Case
Consulting
4. CROWDFUNDING
defined by an individual, company or
The raising of money
other organization through relatively small
contributions from a large number of people,
usually via the internet, to fund commercial,
charitable, artistic and other projects, endeavours
and entities.
Consulting
17. “I’VE MET MY FUNDING GOAL,
SHOULD I ACCEPT ADDITIONAL
FUNDING FROM OTHER BACKERS?”
ASK
YOURSELF…
DO I HAVE THE CAPACITY
TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL
PERKS?
Consulting
18. A WORD ON
PERKS
70% of successful campaigns = 5-8 perks
($$$)
THE CROWD’S
TASTEBUDS ARE
CHANGING!
Consulting
33. PLATFORM
OVERVIEW
Not ‘All or Nothing
No Vetting
Customer Support
Gogo Factor
4% & 9%
Not ‘All or Nothing
No Vetting
Customer Support
4% & 8%
Consulting
All or nothing
Vetting
Customer Support
5%
34. LET’S SEE WHAT A
GREAT CAMPAIGN
LOOKS LIKE ENDTO-END
Consulting
I hope to make u save time with this pres. You will hear stuff that will seem direct - too direct - but true facts that you better know now than later.
Deliver “foundational” strategic and tactical services, specifically core messaging, brand positioning marketing strategies and content creation.
Mark Evans:
Before starting ME Consulting, worked with four start-ups and spent 10+ years as an award-winning reporter with the National Post, Globe & Mail and Bloomberg News.
Writes several blogs, including one on startup marketing, and a contributor to Forbes.com. I’m one of the organizers of mesh, Canada’s leading digital conference, as well as a mentor for Extreme Startups and JOLT.
Lets get this show on the road!
Show of hands: who has done a CF campaign? who is planning in the next month?
Who is in design, games, devices, gadgets, art, association?
What do you think is the main failure factor?
“People invest in people”
Donations: a donor contract without reward but charitable receipt if applicable i.e.: Kickstarter
Reward: purchase contract for some type of product or service i.e.: Indiegogo
Lendinga: credit contract: credit is being re-paid plus interest. i.e. Kiva
Equity: shareholding contract, shares, equity-like instruments, or revenue sharing in the project/business, potential up side at exit. i.e.: CrowdCube, Gofundme
Accredited investor: An individual who, alone or together with a spouse, owns financial assets worth more than $1 million before taxes but net of related liabilities or
An individual, who alone or together with a spouse, has net assets of at least $5,000,000.
An individual whose net income before taxes exceeded $200,000 in both of the last two years and who expects to maintain at least the same level of income this year;
or
An individual whose net income before taxes, combined with that of a spouse, exceeded $300,000 in both of the last two years and who expects to maintain at least the same level of income this year
An individual who currently is, or once was, a registered adviser or dealer, other than a limited market dealer
Financial institutions
Governments and governmental agencies
Insurance companies
Pension funds
Registered charities
Certain mutual funds, pooled funds and managed accounts
Companies with net assets of at least $5 million
persons or companies recognized by the OSC as an accredited investor
Accredited investor: An individual who, alone or together with a spouse, owns financial assets worth more than $1 million before taxes but net of related liabilities or
An individual, who alone or together with a spouse, has net assets of at least $5,000,000.
An individual whose net income before taxes exceeded $200,000 in both of the last two years and who expects to maintain at least the same level of income this year;
or
An individual whose net income before taxes, combined with that of a spouse, exceeded $300,000 in both of the last two years and who expects to maintain at least the same level of income this year
An individual who currently is, or once was, a registered adviser or dealer, other than a limited market dealer
Financial institutions
Governments and governmental agencies
Insurance companies
Pension funds
Registered charities
Certain mutual funds, pooled funds and managed accounts
Companies with net assets of at least $5 million
persons or companies recognized by the OSC as an accredited investor
FOCUS ON REWARD
Accredited investor: An individual who, alone or together with a spouse, owns financial assets worth more than $1 million before taxes but net of related liabilities or
An individual, who alone or together with a spouse, has net assets of at least $5,000,000.
An individual whose net income before taxes exceeded $200,000 in both of the last two years and who expects to maintain at least the same level of income this year;
or
An individual whose net income before taxes, combined with that of a spouse, exceeded $300,000 in both of the last two years and who expects to maintain at least the same level of income this year
An individual who currently is, or once was, a registered adviser or dealer, other than a limited market dealer
Financial institutions
Governments and governmental agencies
Insurance companies
Pension funds
Registered charities
Certain mutual funds, pooled funds and managed accounts
Companies with net assets of at least $5 million
persons or companies recognized by the OSC as an accredited investor
FOCUS ON REWARD
PEOPLE ARE READY TO PAY THE PRICE
PEOPLE ARE READY TO PAY THE PRICE
A lot of creative types do not come from a business background and may not be as good at the details as the overall product vision. Creating a budget before beginning a Kickstarter campaign is crucial for making sure the numbers add up. Treat the project as if you were creating a product for a customer. Don’t wait until mid or post-project to call up suppliers and research shipping costs.
By making conservative and ideal estimates for the costs that will be incurred from the time of product creation to shipping, you will have a clearer idea of the margins that you will receive on each product, along with the buffer that you will need as a safeguard against miscellaneous items.
When I interviewed Kathleen of TouchDome Luxury Watches, who raised 30k on Kickstarter, she mentioned having spent upwards of a year and a half negotiating with manufacturers and designers for the best prices and planning the campaign from start to finish.
PULL THE PLUG: QUANTITY OF PERKS MUST BE LIMITED.
IF SCENARIO=EXCESS FUNDING - DO WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PRODUCE EXCESS PERKS?
The most successful projects are 30 days old - why?
For example, do you want to raise money to publish an eBook, hire a video production company for your film, or buy the materials to make a prototype?
PULL THE PLUG: QUANTITY OF PERKS MUST BE LIMITED.
IF SCENARIO=EXCESS FUNDING - DO WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PRODUCE EXCESS PERKS?
CF is entering its 5 year…the crowd is becoming blasé - need to impress them with perks, the right perks. Again - this needs to be prepared ahead of time, and planned. i.e. half way down the campaign, launch a new perk to boost donations.
F&F= your ambassadors
Make sure you’re targeting those that will support you!
Your probability increases when you reach 30% of your goal. Why? Empty Restaurant syndrome
where is your target market?
what do they read, what are their interests, their lifestyles? Go gettem, find ’em on SN and engage with them
NOW UNLESS you have a huge network of close friends of friends, you need to know where the “Crowd” is.
IF YOU ARE THAT PERSON, MAKE SURE TO SET ASIDE TIME!
its your cocktail party.
Beats taking an investor for a night out, throwing a happy hour, speaking at gigs, buying ads
But this doesn't mean you should set up a Twitter account or Facebook profile just for the sake of your crowdfunding campaign. People will make the assumption that you did so only because you need money. Being social is what social networking is all about. You have to build up your core audience first by engaging in meaningful 140-character conversations with people who share your interests and by clicking "Like" on updates and Facebook pages. Become friends with the folks in your field. Retweet interesting Tweets. Help other crowdfunders with their campaigns and they'll in turn help you with yours. Today, it's most important to always be a person before a petition.
Also, make sure all is integrated: web site, cf site, social sites, blog.
The crowd will lift the curtain during the campaign and will want to see what’s behind closed doors.
During the campaign
warming up the audience
François Alain - Sauropod Games - 4 months of warming up, listening, connecting, re-listening, reconnecting most funded Canadian project ever ($700,000)
warming up the audience
François Alain - Sauropod Games - 4 months of warming up, listening, connecting, re-listening, reconnecting most funded Canadian project ever ($700,000)
Regularly review the comments and questions that are sent and give an appropriate response to each
Twitter
Goo Alerts
Facebook
Hoot suite
And a slew of verticals! Community, sports, arts, local specialities
White label solution
WP APIs (DIY - IgnitionDeck, Astoundify, and WPMU DEV)
Kick 5.2 million people have pledged $892 million, funding 52,000 creative projects.- 44% have reached their goals
Indiegogo 30,000 campaigns, across 194 countries. 10% fully funded
Vetting - Rob Ford